


Prior impressions

by Crisis_aversion



Series: Shadow of the spark [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Ambitious But Rubbish, Bad Decisions, Canon-Typical Violence, Consensual But Not Safe Or Sane, Dark, Decepticon!Blurr, Don't read if you haven't finished TF:A season two, Established Relationship, He'll be fine Shocks will make sure of that, I Ship It, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I realize this makes no sense, Idek if this counts as canon divergence, Implied botpreg, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, It's more stained glass, It's not canon but it isn't technically Shattered Glass either, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Not What It Looks Like, Other, Rating/tags subject to change, Slow To Update, So Wrong It's Right, The Author Regrets Nothing, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, What Have I Done, What Was I Thinking?, What-If, Why Did I Write This?, Will the Council ever NOT be jerks?, but when are they not?, confused Autobots, shadowplay, spoiler warning, they're yelling at each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25825210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crisis_aversion/pseuds/Crisis_aversion
Summary: Blurr and Longarm are in a good relationship. They have a sparkling, they love each other, they both have good jobs... But with the baby comes a disturbing revelation Blurr isn't sure he can handle. And the discoveries continue until Blurr is certain he's going to lose his processor. But he refuses to let go of the life he had, even if it means starting a new one.Don't read if you haven't finished TF:A season two, there are major spoilers ahead!Rating and tags subject to change in the future.
Relationships: Blurr/Longarm Prime | Shockwave
Series: Shadow of the spark [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1879696
Kudos: 12





	1. The revelation

**Author's Note:**

> It's not canon but it's not technically Shattered Glass either. It's more of a stained glass universe, but then again we know the Council is made of jerks and still exists in TF:A so...  
> Anyway, (sort of) evil Autobot officers and justified Decepticons ahead.
> 
> Spoilers for TF:A season two, despite not being loyal to canon lol
> 
> Posting this despite it not being finished (for once), I have an idea of where I'm going with this so I feel confident I won't leave it hanging (much). Slow updates, however.
> 
> If you have a suggestion feel free to tell me!

Longarm had insisted on a home forging. Blurr had agreed, knowing it was better to stay out of the public eye with something so fragile, but now he saw he had an ulterior motive. 

"He's beautiful," Longarm cooed from behind him.

"Indeed," Blurr whispered. "Butwhydoeshelooklike... Shockwave?" He had seen the files on the infamous Decepticon, he knew what he looked like. He turned around and squeaked, optics widening in fear.

Shockwave himself stood behind him. "It's alright, darling," he said, in **Longarm's** voice. "It's me."

Blurr pulled away, frame trembling. "Shockwave?! WhatdidyoudotoLongarm? Howdareyouusehisvoice!"

Shockwave's lone optic softened. "I haven't done anything to him. Don't you see, my dear? I **am** him."

"N-no! You c-can'tbehim!"

Shockwave gently picked up the struggling Autobot, carrying him into a back room. "You'll understand soon enough, darling." He lay him in a stasis chamber, released his clutch from their sparkling, and shut the door before he could protest.

The sparkling stared up at him with wide, purple optics.

"It will be alright, Lightspeed," Shockwave said tenderly, using the designation he and Blurr had chosen weeks before. " I'll make sure you grow up in a world that will accept you." He placed him in a second stasis chamber, hovering over the twin pods for several minutes before sweeping out, turning out the light, and locking the door.

* * *

The stasis pod slowly opened, and Blurr gasped for air. His optics widened at the strangers - **Decepticons** \- lined up at the far end of the room. He bolted upright, desperately searching for an exit. He felt a strong hand on his shoulder, and his spark slowed its erratic pulsing slightly at the sound of a familiar voice. But he refused to let it calm him, the owner was a traitor. The owner **never even existed**.

"Blurr, calm down," Shockwave said, once again using Longarm's voice. "We won't harm you."

Blurr tried to pull away, but Shockwave tightened his grip, preventing escape. "Letmego!"

"Please. If no one else, trust **me**."

"NotafterwhatIknowaboutyou."

Shockwave sighed.

A large grey helicopter approached, and Blurr's intakes hitched in fear. He knew this mech; everyone knew this mech. He tried to wriggle away as **Megatron,** the warlord of the Decepticons himself, knelt down to his level, but Shockwave's iron grip on his shoulder kept him in place. "I know you find this hard to accept, Blurr," Megatron said, optics showing no malevolence, but Blurr still refused to believe he was safe. "Shockwave may have been undercover, but his feelings for you are genuine."

Blurr shook his head frantically, optics darting around the room. Megatron nodded, and the grip on his shoulder released. He was on his feet in a second, dashing around the room, searching for an open exit. He found none, and skidded to a stop in the middle of the room. "Letmeout! TheAutobotswillbelookingforme, youcan'tkeepmehereforever!"

The Decepticons just watched him, making no move to capture him again. The crushing realization that he had nowhere to go crashed down on him, sucking the energy from his frame and making him collapse to his knees. 

"Actually," Shockwave began quietly. Blurr shook his head.

"Please. Don'ttellme. Iknowwhatyou'regoingtosay, andIdon'twanttohearit." Blurr wrapped his arms around himself, frame trembling uncontrollably. "Justtellmewhatyouwantfromme."

"I just want you to be happy."

"Thenletmegohome!"

"I can't do that, Blurr." Shockwave took a step forward, but froze when Blurr flinched away. "You're not safe there."

"TheCouncilwillkeepmesafe, youknowthat."

"The Council are liars."

"TheCouncilraisedme!"

"I know. I knew your parents too."

"Wha- That'simpossible! EvenIneverknewmyparents."

"That's what they **want** you to think."

"Whatdoyoumean?" 

Shockwave slowly walked forward; this time Blurr let him. He knelt down in front of the smaller bot, taking his face in his hands. "Your parents were Decepticons, darling."

Blurr stared at him. "I-impossible."

"They were good bots, loyal to the cause and two of the kindest sparks I've ever met. When I found out you were their youngling, I knew I had made a good decision befriending you."

Blurr's intakes grew ragged. "...Whathappenedtothem, then?"

Shockwave's optic narrowed. "The Council executed them. **That's** Why they raised you. They didn't want you following in their footsteps when you could be so useful to **them.** "

Blurr twitched, then narrowed his optics. "AndwhatifIdon'tbelieveyou? Idon'trememberanyofthis!"

"They don't want you to. They blocked the memories from your processor; they tricked you into thinking **this** is how your life was always supposed to be."

" **How?** I've never seen anything like that in our scientific records, it's impossible!"

"It's called Shadowplay. Have you ever heard of processorwashing in movies?"

"T-Theywouldn'tdothat," Blurr insisted.

"It's a secret weapon. We've lost many good mecha to it."

Blurr shook himself; the conversation was starting to give him a processorache. "Whywouldtheydothatto **me?** "

"Because **you're a weapon.** They want to use you and the only way to do that is reprogram you."

Blurr shuddered. "Isitmyspeed? AretheyafraidofwhatwouldhappeniftherewasasuperfastDecepticon?"

"That is likely one of the reasons."

"...Proveit. IfyouwantmetobelieveI'vebeen... **Shadowplayed**...proveit."

Shockwave stood, and helped Blurr to his feet. "Follow me, Bypass."

Blurr flinched. "Who?"

"That was your name, before the Council got you."

"M-myname?" Blurr pressed a hand to the side of his helm. 

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, it'sjustabitofaprocessorache, isall."

Megatron keyed open a door, optics narrow. "He's breaking free of the reprogramming."

Blurr's knees buckled, and Shockwave swept him up into his arms before he could fall. He whimpered, clutching into Shockwave's chestplates. "What'swrongwithme?"

"Nothing is wrong, darling," Shockwave said. "You're breaking their shadowplay."

"It **hurts.** " Blurr hissed in pain, clawing at his helm.

"I know, dear, I know." Shockwave pulled the smaller mech's hands away from his helm. "It will be alright, trust me."

Blurr nodded slowly, burying his faceplate into the Decepticon's chestplate.

Shockwave carried him into the medbay and gently laid him on a berth.

A cherry red bot hurried over, scanning his optics over Blurr's frame, searching for injuries. He paused over the Elite Guard insignia displayed proudly on his chest. 

"Knock Out," Shockwave said. "He's been Shadowplayed."

Knock Out's optics widened, and he jumped into action.

Blurr curled up on the berth as Knock Out hooked cables to the back of his helm.

"Just stay calm, little one," Knock Out said soothingly, as the machines behind him started beeping rhythmically, displaying columns of info Blurr couldn't decode through the fog in his mind. "Everything's gonna be okay."


	2. Shadowplay

The pain in Blurr's processor had finally subsided, to the point where he could finally sit up. "I-Iremember," he breathed. "Iremembereverything." His optics widened, a shudder travelling down his spine. "Oh,Primus"

"What is it, dear?" Shockwave asked, leaning over the other side of his berth, over Blurr's shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

"Youwereright! TheCouncil'sbeenlyingtomeallalong! They **messedwithmy _spark!_** "

"What?!"

"I-Idon'tknowwhattheydid, butIhavememoriesoftheirscientistshoveringovermy **opensparkchamber,** " Blurr hissed. "Scanme!Whatdidthey **do?** "

Knock Out hooked another cable to Blurr's chestplates, fingers flying across a keyboard. "The only anomaly is your outlier ability," he announced after several minutes.

"Thenit'sthat!" Blurr slid off the berth, pacing the small room in anger. "Somehowtheymust'veimplantedmyspeed!"

"But... That's impossible."

"AndIthought **this** ," Blurr tapped the side of his helm, "wasimpossible."

"Blurr, are you certain that was what you saw?"

"Yes!" Blurr paused midstride. "Theonlywaytoknowistestit, right?" He blasted in a circle around the room, skidding to a stop and clutching his chestplates. A sharp pain pulsed through his frame each time his spark beat.

Shockwave rushed to his side, wrapping his arms around the smaller bot. "Blurr! Are you alright?"

Blurr shook his head, gasping for air. 

Knock Out stared at his screen with wide optics. "I'm getting an inexplicable spike in activity in his pain receptors here!"

"Tell us something we don't know!" Shockwave barked.

Blurr stumbled forward as Shockwave led him back to the berth. "It'smyspeed, ithastobe."

"...It **is** the only logical conclusion," Shockwave conceded. "The Shadowplay must have blocked the symptoms somehow."

"Implanting outlier abilities **is** **technically** impossible, but that doesn't stop many scientists from trying," Knock Out said. "My guess is they tried and miscoded some integral part, making it agonizing to use..."

Blurr blacked out.

Knock Out whirled around after one glance at the screen, hooking more cables to the Autobot and pushing a needle into his neck.

Shockwave stepped back in shock. "What-?"

"He's going into spark arrest!" Knock Out continued rushing around the room, trying to resuscitate the blue mech. 

Blurr gasped for breath, optics flying open. 

Knock Out leaned against the desk with a sigh of relief.

"W-whathappened?!"

"I would like to revise my earlier statement: a miscoding that made your speed **deadly.** "

Blurr stared at him blankly.

" **Slow down.** Doctor's orders."

"It'sdeadly?! B-but, **I'vebeenusingitforyears!** " Blurr flinched as another pang travelled through his spark.

"Slow down, darling," Shockwave said, sitting on the edge of the berth and pulling the other mech closer. "That includes your speech."

"How? I'vebeentalkinglikethissolongIdon'tknowhowtostop!" The words sent another wave of pain down his frame.

"Just focus. Your life depends on it."

Blurr took a deep, if shaky, intake. "Slowdown. Slow down. Slow...down." 

Shockwave's optic twisted up into a smile. "There you go."

"Normal speed..." Blurr frowned. "Me, at normal speed..."

"You'll get used to it." Shockwave nuzzled his faceplate into Blurr's neck cables. "Everything will be fine, I'll fix the coding and you'll be able to go as fast as you want again."

Blurr looked up at him with a soft smile. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Shocks."

Shockwave gave a breathy chuckle. "I'll do it, even if it takes me a thousand years. **I promise.** "

* * *

"I wanna be a 'Con. Officially," Blurr announced.

"Really?" Shockwave asked, trying and failing to mask the excitement in his voice. "Thats a major decision. Once you've made it the Autobots will never take you back."

"I know." Blurr nodded. "I've thought it through. This is what I want; to follow in my parents' footsteps."

Shockwave's optic twisted up into a lopsided grin. "I knew you would."

"I'm gonna make the Council pay for what they've done."

"We'll do it together. I'll always be right beside you."

Blurr grinned, stretching up to plant a kiss on Shockwave's faceplate.

"Come, we **must** tell Megatron about this!"

* * *

Blurr squared his shoulders, closing his optics as Megatron completed the initialization ceremony. He felt a soft burn against his chestplates as his new insignia was welded on. He slowly opened his optics, which now glowed a bright gold.

"Welcome to the Decepticons, Blurr," Megatron said.

"Thank you," Blurr bowed his head respectfully, " **Lord Megatron.** "

Shockwave swept the ex-'Bot into his arms. "I'm so proud of you."

Blurr giggled, placing a kiss on the side of the larger mech's helm. "You're **always** proud of me."

"Then I'm twice as proud now, my little Decepticon."


	3. Warframes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short guys, I wasn't sure what to write but started feeling a bit guilty for taking so long to post a new chapter...

Blurr could hardly believe a year had passed, but as he watched Lightspeed happily unwrap his forgeday gifts it was so glaringly obvious. His spark swelled as he watched the youngling squeal in delight. Shockwave wrapped his arms around him from behind, resting his helm on Blurr's shoulder. "This is exactly how he was supposed to be raised, isn't it?"

"Indeed," Shockwave agreed. "And I have a surprise for you, too."

"Hmm?" Blurr looked up at him questioningly. 

"Call it an early anniversary gift. I've scavenged enough parts to build you a warframe upgrade. I heard you telling Lightspeed you wanted one."

"Really?" Blurr gasped.

"Whatever you want it to be." 

"Oh, thank you!" Blurr wrapped himself around Shockwave in a bear hug.

"Anything for you, darling."

* * *

Blurr's optics slowly opened as he came out of stasis. 

Shockwave leaned over him, optic curled into a soft smile. "Do you like it, dear?"

Blurr looked down at himself, a wide grin spreading across his faceplates. "I love it!" He sat up, eyeing himself over. His warframe was the same colors as his civilian one was, but larger and sturdier, with wings folded against his back and jet thrusters tucked into his heels. 

"I added jet equipment like your carrier had," Shockwave said.

Blurr pulled him into a kiss before he could finish the thought. "Thank you, Shocks." He smirked playfully. "And I can't wait to try out the jet mode."

The door slid open, and Megatron and Lightspeed walked in. Lightspeed clambered up the berth next to Blurr. "Carrier?"

"Hey, Speedy." Blurr pulled him into a hug. "You don't recognize me like this, do you?"

Lightspeed shook his head. "But it's awesome!"

"Yeah it is!"

"This frame suits you much better, Bypass," Megatron said. "It's good to see Decepticon resources being out to such good use."

Blurr chuckled slightly. "Glad you think so, sir."

"You're a jet now too?" Lightspeed asked. 

Blurr nodded, winking. "I'll give you a ride when I get used to it."

"Cool!" Lightspeed exclaimed.

* * *

Blurr's wings wobbled slightly as he struggled to stay in the air.

"Just don't zink about it!" Blitzwing said through their comms. Blurr couldn't quite tell which personality he was using. "Just feel ze air under your vings, doesn't it feel amazing?"

Blurr evened out slightly, taking a deep intake of the exhaust tainted air over the Decepticon base. "Yeah. It really does!"

Shockwave and Lightspeed waved from far below. "You're doing awesome, carrier!" Lightspeed yelled.

Blurr grinned inwardly and did a loop the loop, instantly regretting it as his tanks lurched.

"You'll get used to it," Blitzwing assured. "You'll be flying like a pro in no time!"

* * *


End file.
